Gene expression profiling of UV-induced skin cancer using cDNA microarray technology

Ultraviolet (UV) light represents a complete carcinogen, and it is implicated in causing the most prevalent form of skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma (BCC). Previous studies have shown that UV can induce profound changes in cutaneous gene expression leading to immune suppression, which contributes to cutaneous malignancy. This research thesis was undertaken to establish the use of cDNA microarray technology for examining gene expression profiles in the skin. To establish the technique, we first examined UV effects on keratinocytes. Several UV-regulated genes were discovered including the endogenous angiogenesis inhibitor thrombospondin-1, which is potentially relevant to UV-induced carcinogenesis. To examine genes regulated in skin cancer more directly, biopsies from 50 BCC patients were analyzed by microarray. The differential gene expression data obtained for these patients, in addition to the in vitro UV-inducible genes, may promote further understanding of genetic processes involved in non-melanoma skin cancer.